While in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving I appear to have picked up the flu. I think it was from my mother. In that case, I can't really complain about this since it was she who gave me life in the first place! On the good side, this has led to me having a "free day" today (thankfully I enjoy paid time off for being sick as a Kaiser employee). So I have a little time to do things like update my blog.
I realized on my return to the Bay Area last week how blessed we are here with the natural beauty and mild weather. It is so easy to take this for granted. I had the same experience many years ago, driving to California the first time (during the winter). After driving through the snows, winds and desolate regions of the Plains States, Wyoming and then Nevada, when I reached the central valley in California it was like a paradise. I remember smelling the lush vegetation, seeing the green grass in January, and people walking around in T Shirts and shorts without a seeming care in the world. Well, now we know the last part is no longer true - the state has problems in ratio to its size. Yet I cannot stop feeling like we are truly lucky to live here, assuming we can afford to pay the rent and for food!
Speaking of affording the rent ...recently I have been reading "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. I read the book once when I was a teenager. Reading it again makes me appreciate how different life was for many, many people until recently, for instance the Chinese in the 1920s and 1930s (when this book was set). The scenes of starvation and forced migration are powerful. Beyond that, I can appreciate more the changes occurring for the main character, Wang Lung, that Buck describes as he changes from a poor young man to a wealthy landowner. Though I am not a landowner, I once had to pinch every penny (in the early 90s) and now, approaching middle age, I guess I feel more "rich" and don't have to worry so much about money. Some people who know me would say this is not a good thing. In any case, having money doesn't make us happy, but it's good to appreciate what it can do when spent wisely.
